


Behind the Curtains

by Queen of the Castle (queen_of_the_castle_77)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, M/M, Romance, Sexual Content, Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-22
Updated: 2011-08-22
Packaged: 2017-10-22 23:15:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/243635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queen_of_the_castle_77/pseuds/Queen%20of%20the%20Castle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Remus lowers his silencing charms and ends up seeing and hearing much more than he should.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Behind the Curtains

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Lusty Month of May Marathon 2007. The boys are all 17 years old.

The curtains surrounding a four-poster bed concealed very little of what went on behind them. After almost seven years of co-existing in a dormitory with three other boys, Remus knew this only too well. It was why he had always stayed in the hospital wing after the full moon; he didn't want them to see the state he was left in, even if it was only a glimpse of him through a gap in the fabric.

He was quite certain that bed curtains were also the initial reason why silencing charms had been created, for they did even less to muffle noise than they did to obscure sight.

Remus himself habitually put up silencing charms of a night. So did Peter, James and Sirius. Between snoring and wanking noises, it was the only way any of them could possibly get an ounce of sleep.

However, when Sirius had started having violent nightmares, Remus had convinced him to drop his silencing charms and promised the other boy he would do the same. If Sirius was having a bad time of it, Remus wanted to know about it so that he could put an end to it. He hated to think of Sirius suffering.

He clung to that thought every time he was awoken by screaming or especially loud whimpers. It wouldn’t be right for him to get frustrated over it, because he’d been the one who _asked_ for it.

He wasn't sure what kind of sound, precisely, woke him that night. It wasn't a scream, but he couldn't make out enough to tell if it was still a noise of pain.

He was about to climb out of his bed to go check on Sirius when he heard a whisper of, "James," and a moan that didn't sound like it was prompted by pain or nightmares.

Every muscle in Remus's body seemed to go rigid. The hand that had been about to pull his curtains open clutched the material tightly. Had he felt capable of moving in that moment, he would have grabbed his wand and quickly reinstalled his silencing charm. He really didn't need to hear Sirius wanking. He'd certainly never needed to know precisely what Sirius thought about when he wanked.

He seemed, however, to be frozen in place. So instead, he stared at Sirius's bed curiously. The curtains surrounding it had been left a crack open, as always; Sirius would never admit it, but he didn't like feeling that he was fully enclosed. They swayed a little in the breeze that always seemed to fill Gryffindor Tower, especially at night. The movement was almost hypnotic, Remus decided.

Remus saw a flash of skin through the opening in the curtains. His eyes fell upon the sight of a mop of black hair moving down a chest.

"James," Sirius groaned again.

Remus felt suddenly entirely awake and very hard. His eyes flicked over to James's bed as if in confirmation. He found that the curtains there were flung carelessly open and the bed was empty.

Remus forced his breathing not to grow louder at the very thought of two of his best friends being together in bed only a few feet away from him. He was fairly certain that they were too wrapped up in each other to notice a slight panting noise from across the room, but he didn't want to take that chance.

He didn't even notice his hand sneaking towards his groin until it was pressed into the front of his pants and he was grinding himself into it. Remus's eyes fell shut for a moment, overwhelmed by the combined feeling of being touched and the noises making him harder by the moment.

He shifted his hips so that he could pull his pants down to his knees and then let himself come back to rest on the bed. He was in an awkward position, but he refused to move away from where he was holding his curtains open just enough to see out.

He was rewarded when Sirius's face came into view. Remus had a moment of panic when he realised that Sirius could see him if he opened his eyes and averted the line of his gaze just a little.

But as it was, Sirius's eyes were clenched shut with pleasure and seemed unlikely to open until whatever James was doing behind the curtains ceased. Remus forced himself to relax. Even if he was caught, it wasn't as if what he was doing was any worse that what they were doing. He could hardly believe that they would sneak around behind their friends' backs like that.

The thought made Remus more horny than angry, though. He let his hand come to rest in a firm grip around his cock and let out a quiet sigh of relief as he started a steady stroking movement. Up and down, up and down, rather like Sirius's body seemed to be moving. There was a squeak of the bed and another shortly following it, and Remus realised what was happening.

James was fucking Sirius.

Remus bit down on his lip, focusing on drawing out his wanking rather than coming on the spot at the mere thought of it.

He cupped his scrotum and let his fingers roll over the outlines of his balls as he continued jerking himself off. He watched as Sirius's face contorted even further and he cried out, much louder than before, "Ugh! James!"

James's orgasm was much more silent in comparison; a soft grunt filled the air, and no name left his lips. Remus quickly followed, forcing his own climax to be even quieter still. He let the curtains fall closed so that Sirius didn't see him when he came down enough to realise that he and James actually weren't alone in the room. Remus wondered whether Sirius had forgotten that he didn't have his silencing charm up or whether he just hadn't cared.

As Remus settled back into his mattress, his entire body thrumming with his release, he heard James say gruffly, " 'Night, Sirius."

"Stay, please," Sirius said.

"Sorry. Early morning."

Even from the next bed over Remus could feel Sirius's quiet despair as James abandoned him.

"Fuck," Sirius whispered.

Remus was suddenly glad that Peter was still in his bed, probably snoring away obliviously, and that James had already pulled his curtains shut, entrapped within his silencing charm. He wouldn't want everyone to witness Sirius's low point. He half wished that he himself hadn't, for it felt wrong to learn something so intimate about his friend without Sirius knowing that Remus knew.

"Remus?" Sirius called.

Well, apparently he did know after all. Remus was silent for a long moment, debating whether he should admit that he'd been listening, before replying, "Yeah?"

"You heard that right?"

Remus didn't say anything.

Sirius took his silence for assent. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, Sirius," he said softly.

"I'm never going to be enough for James, am I?"

Remus sighed. No, he wasn't. Because Sirius and James was closer than brothers could ever be, but James's heart belonged to Lily, whether she was quite ready to accept it or not.

"I'm sorry," Remus said.

There was a sigh from across the room that echoed his own.

"Fuck," Sirius said again.

Fuck, indeed. Remus wished he could climb out of bed and go reassure his friend. But he knew all too well that Sirius would want to be alone with his thoughts at that moment.

"Hey Remus?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't tell James, all right? That I'm… you know, upset."

Remus's heart felt like it has settled somewhere in the same vicinity as his feet.

"All right," he said.

"Great. Er, good night."

Good night, Remus though, but he said nothing. He heard Sirius's breathing ease into the quiet snuffling sounds he'd grown used to over the past few weeks since the silencing charms had been taken down. Remus remained wide awake, the afterglow of his orgasm only a vague memory.

As he heard Sirius shift in his sleep and whimper a while later, Remus wondered yet again what Sirius dreamed about. But for the first time Remus thought he might have an inkling.

He thought of James, and of how Sirius always said he'd never be able to live without him. He wondered if Sirius would actually survive it.

The screams in the night and the heartbroken note in Sirius's voice when he asked Remus that ultimate question seemed to suggest not.

Remus settled into a restless sort of sleep. Tomorrow he would confront Sirius. He'd ask what the dreams were about, and offer his support if and when Sirius admitted the truth. But as for tonight, he couldn't bring himself to disturb the other boy.

In lieu of James's company, Sirius at the very least deserved his solitude.

~FIN~


End file.
